


I'm Not Happy Here, But I Wouldn't Be More Happy Anywhere Else

by MissjuliaMiriam



Series: Much Needed Therapy [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, Much Needed Therapy AU, everyone is fucked up, poor babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-10
Updated: 2012-08-10
Packaged: 2017-11-11 20:03:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/482384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissjuliaMiriam/pseuds/MissjuliaMiriam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time the group gets together, it actually goes fairly well. Dick is extremely surprised. Like, a lot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Not Happy Here, But I Wouldn't Be More Happy Anywhere Else

**Author's Note:**

> This is part two of this AU. Part one was written by the lovely Cait, aka myadamantiumheart. Enjoy.

Dick wasn't entirely sure that it was going to work. God knew, maybe it'd blow up in his face, just like Bruce had said it would. But he was going to try, because these kids needed some help, needed someone to bring them together, to put them back together after far too many years of being in pieces. And maybe he wasn't qualified to take on something like this. Maybe he was being overly optimistic. And yet, when the school day ended, and 3:15 rolled around, they all came.

Slowly, sure, one by one. Dick hadn't been sure if Damian or Jason would show up at all. However, they did. First came Tim, right on time, looking as exhausted as ever, carrying a full bag of books. He nodded to Dick when he came in, then sat down with two chairs to Dick's right and pulled out the novel that they were reading in English. After him came Cass, silent and ghostly as she drifted in and settled next to Tim, not even looking at Dick, setting her bag down next to her and sitting completely still, staring into space. After then, a few minutes later, Stephanie came, her bag over one shoulder, one of her hands on her belly. She was noticeably pregnant by now, just over four months. When she entered, she gave Dick a weak smile, then settled next to him on his left, leaning back and closing her eyes. After her, there was a long pause, nearly ten minutes, before Damian arrived. He glared, surly, his bag tossed across his shoulder carelessly, and sat down on the chair directly across the circle from Dick, next to where Tim was still reading silently. The last to arrive was Jason, and as was normal for him, he came in loud.

“Let's get this shit over with,” he announced as he entered the room and plopped into the last remaining chair, between Steph and Damian. He sprawled, legs open, and looked around at the others. Tim was putting away his book, Cass was finally turning her attention to Dick. Dami was still glaring, and Stephanie sighed.

“Counsellor Grayson, why are we here?” she asked, looking at everyone and then back to him.

Dick smiled at her, and then rose from his chair. “You're all here, and will continue to be here, because I can't help you. Not by myself.”

“Then you are an incompetent moron, not fit to counsel teenagers, and we have no reason to be here at all.” And that was Damian. Dick sighed.

“I honestly think that you'll all do better in a group that you ever could just working with me. I've been meeting with all of you individually for about a month now, and I'm pretty sure the only one who's made marked progress of any kind is Cass.”

Cass' lips quirked up into a tiny smile, but she didn't say anything. Damian, on the other hand, had no compunctions about speaking. “And what exactly do you think that we can do for each other? Each of us has as many problems as the next.”

“For most of you, your biggest problem is that you've been crippled socially. You have no friends. So I'm putting you all into this group in the hopes that you can make some friends, and work through some of your issues together, both in sessions and on your own time.”

“Then why are you here?” Jason snorted. “Why not just leave us alone, and hope we get buddy-buddy without your help?”

“I'm here to supervise, and also to guide. If I leave you alone you'll be at each other's throats in a second, or you'll just sit here and say nothing,” he said, gesturing first at Damian, Jason, and Stephanie, and then at Tim and Cass.

“Then what are we doing today, fearless leader?”

Dick grinned at Jason. “Today, you'll be introducing yourselves, and trying not to fight. I think that that's as much as I can hope for right now. Jason, since you've so kindly spoken up, you can go first.”

Jason groaned. “Oh my god. Fine. My name is Jason Todd, and I'm an alcoholic.”

“Hi Jason,” murmured Steph, giggling. Dick rolled his eyes.

“Properly, please? Maybe tell us why you think you're here, or something that you enjoy, or an interesting fact about yourself?”

“Whatever.” Jason sat up a bit in his chair. “I'm here because I beat people up. Before you call me violent, I was provoked. There is nothing interesting about me.”

“Okay,” said Dick, and then gestured to Damian. “You next.”

He huffed. “My name is Damian Wayne, and I am here because the teachers in this school are idiots, and they refuse to accept my corrections. I should be in college, but my mother disallowed me.”

“Thank you, Damian.” Dick pointed at Tim. “Tim?”

“I'm Timothy Drake.” Tim laced his fingers together in his lap. “I'm here because I overwork myself, and because I have difficulties socializing. I don't- There's nothing else that I'd like to share.” He looked up at Dick, and Dick nodded approvingly. He had noticed that that was a common behaviour of Tim's; whenever he made a choice regarding his own self that wasn't clearly what the authority figure in the room wanted, he immediately looked for approval.

“Cass? Will you tell us about yourself?” Dick wasn't sure if Cass would open up in this environment, with so many people around.

“Cassandra Cain,” she said in answer, nearly silent. “I don't talk.”

Jason snorted. “Yeah,” he said. “We noticed.”

Dick glared at him. “If you don't have anything constructive to add to the conversation, please refrain from speaking, Jason. This is a safe place for all of you, and I won't accept any kind of bullying or cruelty. If it appears, you'll be leaving the group, my sessions, and potentially the school.”

Jason looked down, and mumbled, “Fine, whatever. Dick.”

Dick chose to ignore that and looked at Steph. “Steph?”

She smiled at the group. “I'm Stephanie Brown, and I'm here because I'm pregnant.” She gestured at her belly. “And, uh...” She thought for a minute. “I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue!”

Jason rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something, then glanced over at Dick, and, seeing the flat look he was being given, closed his mouth again.

“Thank you, everyone,” Dick said. “I'm Dick Grayson, I'm here because I'm an obnoxious brat and not smart enough to be an actual teacher, and because I care about people, and helping people. I'm a trained acrobat, and my favourite colour is blue.” He beamed. “And I think that this is the start of something great.”

 

The rest of the meeting went like so: Jason flirted outrageously with Steph, to no avail, Damian sat, glared, and occasionally make snarky comments that sometimes made Jason laugh and some times made Tim laugh, Tim watched all the goings on, made quiet conversation with Cass (Unsurprisingly, they got along like a house on fire. A very quiet fire, but still.) and jotted notes in a small notebook that he kept in his lap. Dick watched, occasionally scolded Damian for being rude, and beamed at everyone, because this was actually happening.

The meeting was only a half hour, so by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, everyone was gone. Dick sat alone in the room, looked around at the five empty chairs, and thought that this was actually going to work.

Eventually, he packed up his bag, tucked away the few notes he had made after the kids had left, and headed for the principal's office. When he got there, the man himself, Principal Bruce Wayne, was on the phone, so he waited patiently sitting in a chair in from of Bruce's desk. Vaguely, he remembered sitting in this exact position when he himself had been a naughty teenager.

Soon enough, Bruce got off the phone, and said, “How did it go?”

“It went great. Cass actually talked, Tim only looked to me for approval once, and no one picked on Steph. Both of your sons are assholes, biological and adopted, so I guess that disproves nature vs. nurture.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Both of them complain about you as well, though Jason is the only who actually complains directly to me. Mostly I overhear Damian grumbling.”

“Yeah, well,” said Dick. “You're the one that sent them to me, so now you get to deal with it. However, they both listen, mostly, so that's good.”

“They know you'd come to me if they were trouble, so they behave.”

“Damn.” Dick snapped his fingers. “I was hoping it was because I'm actually cool.”

“They'll come to look up to you,” Bruce said. “They won't be able to help it.”

“I sure hope so,” Dick replied. “I sure hope so.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are welcome as always!


End file.
